Monday, October 12, 2009

I posted a still photo of Georgia's final kickoff against LSU last week, hoping to better illustrate the problems in the execution of the play. While the photo certainly showed some coverage issues, it also showed something else.

All week, following the loss to LSU, Mark Richt had talked about how young his kickoff coverage team was this year, and young teams tend to struggle. Well, as one of my readers pointed out, that's not exactly what the photo showed. In fact, here are the six coverage guys shown in the photo: Stephen Braue (Sr.), Shawn Williams (Fr.), Rennie Curran (Jr.), Prince Miller (Sr.), Baccari Rambo (RFr.) and Nick Williams (So.).

Only one true freshman, which sort of undermined the argument that youth is the reason for the problems on the unit.

That got me to thinking about the rest of the team. I know that, particularly on offense, Georgia has a lot of young players getting significant reps. But is that the reason for the team's struggles?

I quickly put together a rough list of all the key juniors and seniors on both sides of the ball this year and provided a quick analysis of their play thus far...

Joe Cox -- It's not Cox's ability that has been disconcerting. Aside from the flu-ridden Oklahoma State game, Cox's arm has been better than advertised in terms of connecting on deep balls. It's his decision making that has been the bigger issue, and that goes against everything we heard about him in the preseason. His decisions to throw to his primary receiver rather than check down have resulted in two pick sixes, his choice to throw away balls before taking a sack finally -- but not surprisingly -- came back to haunt him when Dennis Rogan picked one off at Tennessee, and while I put the majority of the onus for the chaos of spiking it with a second left before the half on the coaching staff, Cox has to know how to handle those situations, too. On top of that, his completion percentage and passing yards have dipped in each game the past three weeks.

Shaun Chapas -- The problems with the running game can be pinned on any number of players, but Chapas was supposed to be a strength, and instead he's done almost nothing. His blocking has been suspect on offense and he hasn't been the same weapon in the passing game he was last year. Meanwhile, as one of the real veterans on special teams, he stole a kick return away from Brandon Boykin, and he twice let Branden Smith run kicks out of the end zone early in the season… mental breakdowns, all of them.

Mike Moore -- Moore virtually disappeared from the offense for two weeks following a strong performance against Arkansas before returning with six catches against Tennessee. Still, none of his catches were for anything resembling a big gain, and on his last one, he fumbled, leading to another Tennessee touchdown. He's had two or fewer catches in four of six games this year, has cracked 50 yards receiving just once, and all of that is with the best receiver in college football on the other side of the field getting double teamed.

The entire O line -- Before the season, this unit was considered one of the best in the country and pretty easily the best in the SEC. Six games into the season, they're not anywhere close to being as good as they were last year when they had a different lineup each week and three freshmen starting. The run blocking has been abysmal all year, in Weeks 1 and 6, the pass blocking was as brutal as we've seen in a while, and add to that the huge number of penalties that have been called on the line, and you have to wonder if it's really Stacy Searels under that sweat-soaked sweatshirt during practice or if it's just some guy who stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Geno Atkins & Jeff Owens -- If either of these guys had left for the NFL following their junior seasons, they'd probably have been first-day draft picks. In Atkins' case, he would have been a first-rounder last season. Instead, the two have combined for 26 tackles and one-half of a sack. On top of that, Atkins hasn't even started the past three games, effectively passed on the depth chart by Kade Weston because of Weston's better practice habits.

Bryan Evans -- He's a great kid, but his coverage skills are beyond bad. Evans has seen playing time in almost every game for the past two years without an interception. Baccari Rambo has seen significant action in just the past three games, and he has two picks.

Prince Miller -- How many times has he been burned in coverage this season? Saturday was easily his worst effort, but there have been others -- too many others. It says something when opposing QBs are picking on your senior, three-year starter at about a 2-to-1 clip over the sophomore, first-year starter at corner. But worse is the punt return situation. First, Georgia essentially punts on the idea of returning punts against LSU, with Logan Gray in the game to decide whether a kick should be fair caught or allowed to bounce behind him. Then, Miller finally gets in during one of these "punt safe" situations, and he catches and returns a kick from his own 1-yard line. When you do something so awful that the decision to use Gray as a punt returner looks smart by comparison, that's bad.

If you look at the above list, it could easily be titled, "Most Disappointing Players: 2009."

The only veterans that have had any measurable impact on a consistent basis have been Rennie Curran, Kade Weston and Darryl Gamble -- and each of them have had some down moments as well.

Then look at the youngsters. I'd venture to say the combination of A.J. Green, Brandon Boykin, Baccari Rambo, Tavarres King, Branden Smith, Marcus Dowtin and Justin Houston have been responsible for about 90 percent of the big plays Georgia has had this season, and all are freshmen or sophomores.

Sure, Boykin and Smith and the rest have had their share of mistakes, too, but they've at least begun to balance out the errors with big plays, too. With the exception of the young running backs, you'd have to argue that virtually every one of Georgia's freshmen and sophomore contributors has met or exceeded preseason expectations.

But the veterans? It's not just poor play overall, but some really silly mistakes -- the type of stuff you'd expect from, well, freshmen.

I'm sure a few people will look at this and again point to coaching, but I'm not sure I can agree with that. Those veterans, as Mark Richt said on Sunday, are on the field for a reason. They've accomplished things in the past earned them playing time in the present. And those kids, for all their talent, didn't just step off a high school field and know how to suddenly play well in the SEC. They were coached up, although to varying degrees you might argue.

So how then to explain why guys like Brandon Boykin or Tavarres King haven't simply played better than his veteran counterparts, but has played smarter, too?

I'm not sure what the answer is, but I'll give Joe Cox credit for at least accepting the responsibility of it.

"These younger guys came to Georgia because they wanted to be part of something great," Cox said. "You don't want to feel like you let those guys down, and you don't want them to feel like this is how it's supposed to be. ... We don't want them to be a part of a season that none of us can be proud of. Everybody always talks about playing for the seniors because it's their last shot. But the seniors, the veterans have to play for the younger guys, too, to show them the right way to do things and get them started off on the right foot."

31 comments:

It seems there is no accountability, and players are starting to realize this. I’m seeing shades of the last years of the Larry Coker era at Miami in our play. I hate to say that because it took the resignation of a head coach to get that program back in the right direction. I in no way shape or form want to see anyone lose their job, especially Coach Richt. However at this point something needs to change, and I think Dawg nation as a whole would rather see the loss of a coordinator than the head coach himself.

What baffles me the most is the o-line. These are the exact SAME guys as last year and the SAME coach. They have another year of experience under their belt... how can they possibly be worse? Up until this year, I think we would all agree that Searels over-achieved with his players. What in the world has happened here?

David -- This article sums up what has been my greatest frustration with this team, which is poor decision making by veterans and youth alike. Mistakes of action my youth is more tolerable, but your point about Chapas allowing Smith to take KOs out of the end zone are Exhibit A for this issue. The coach should absolutely be held accountable for the final results. However, I am fairly certain that Sean Chapas knew the day he stepped on campus that taking kicks out of the endzone from 4-6 yds deep is generally NOT helpful. Don't mean to pick on Chapas, but he serves as a useful surrogate for the larger issue. So, is that a player issue or coaching issue? I suspect it is a little of both. If the same players are allowed to continue making the same poor decisions, it then it squarely becomes a coaching issue. We have reached that point in some cases and are racing there at break neck speed with Joe C. Sadly, I think this is just an under performing team (set of players) and under performing coaching staff. Some of these players have great measurables, have wonderful pedigrees (4 or 5 stars -- for whatever that is worth) and have shown flashes, but they are just not proving out to be the players we would have hoped. Whatever the case with respect to intermittent flashes of brilliance, they certainly are not coalescing into the consistent winning team. Some years it just doesn't work -- see several Yankee teams from the last 10 years. By all opinion, they were led by a good manager and the roster was laden with All-Stars and future HOF players, but they just underperformed for any number of reasons. There is something to be said for having a mix of star athletes, over achieving "program guys" and strong leadership. This team just does NOT have the mix and this staff does not seem capable of willing that mix into existence. If this was being done with a Freshman QB, it would be a lot more tolerable as you could rationalize that they are setting up for the future. However, as it stands, this team is likely headed for a mid-to-low tier bowl at best and at the end of it all will be left with a Freshman QB next year. Ugh.

You're absolutely right, Joe. And the best lesson you could teach the young guys would be taking a seat - realizing that you aren't doing the team or this university any favors by soldiering on with less than mediocre play. That's a lesson JT3 picked up in pretty quickly, but it seems to be lost on you.

ChicagoDawg says something really good there that needs to be kept in mind:

"Some years it just doesn't work."

For years I've been banging on about rampant coacholatry in the college football community. At some point in the recent past, people stopped talking about, say, Georgia's record on the road and started talking about Richt's record on the road. Last I checked, he still hasn't ever played a down in a Georgia uniform.

The coaching staff is important. Without good recruits you don't have a team. A good game plan and inspired play-calling are a huge help out on the field. Motivation and skill development can help players be all they can be.

But coaches aren't some sort of genius puppeteers, nor are they holding a PlayStation controller in their hands. It seems to me that people who go on about "x wouldn't have happened if they'd been coached up better" and "we would have been able to succeed at doing y if they'd been coached up better" and "player z would be stronger and smarter and developing faster if he'd been coached up better" are usually overlooking this.

Sometimes it just doesn't work, and there's nothing that a bunch of panicked firings can possibly accomplish other than making things worse.

We've got to let the season play out. Then let the people who actually know what's going on inside the program day in and day out give the coaches a fair and full evaluation, and decide if changes need to be made. If I were a betting man, I'd bet we will see some--but very, very few of us fans truly know which individuals that should or will be.

Anon -- Not trying to quibble with you here, but what do you expect Joe to do? Go to his coach and say, "Bench me, Coach. I don't want to play anymore"? And what about the performance of Logan Gray that you have seen so far makes you so sure that he'll be better?

I don't mind the critique of Joe's play, because he simply hasn't gotten the job done. But I don't know of anyone on this team that has shown more heart, determination and effort than he has. I don't think it's fair to question his loyalty or selflessness.

Goliard -- I think you're dead on. Look the ultimate responsibility always lies with the coaching staff, but I'll say this: I have the best parents anyone could ask for, but it didn't stop me or my sister from doing a lot of very dumb things throughout our lives. They were things our parents taught us not to do, repeatedly warned us not to do, punished us for if we were caught doing it, and never would have done themselves. But we did them anyway. Sometimes all the coaching in the world doesn't elicit the desired result because at the end of the day, once the players step on the field, it's up to them to execute.

Matt -- Yes, Clint is able to talk to the media, but -- and I say this sincerely -- he says absolutely nothing because he is terrified of saying the wrong thing.

Blog Goliard -- Nice coin of a phrase with "coacholatry." It is spot on. The perfect example of this is the current cacophony we are enduring that decries Richt's calm demeanor and strong faith. Those who are engaging in this line of reasoning are no doubt the same folks who lauded these traits as "steely determination and poise" in Knoxville during the famous last minute drive of '01 or at Auburn in '02.

It is not unlike a troubled marriage or any other relationship going through a rough patch. That, which we used to romanticize and saw as endearing, becomes the focus of our discontent in hard times. What we fail to recognize or accept is that we what we really loved is the outcome or feelings that we had when it was good and not the characteristics/personality/habits. We loved cool, calm and collected Richt when he was delivering beat downs against Auburn, while the Def Coordinator at the time Will Muschamp was in full emotional meltdown on the opposing sidelines. However, now that things aren't as we would have them to be, we are told that the source of our problems is the fact that Richt isn't throwing tantrums on the sidelines. Presumably, he should be calling players "stupid" ala Paul Johnson -- if we are to believe Mark Bradley's latest masterpiece.

I want Mark Richt and any coach for that matter to be who they are, but I just want the good result – go figure. It is amazing how much more likeable the coach’s personality and style is when the results are favorable. I guess it is easier, and certainly more gratifying, to call for heads on a plate.

These are the Waterloo moments for the coaches since Dooley. Goff and Donnan were given an opportunity to turn it around and they failed. Richt will get his opportunity next year--and if he stays the course and goes 9-4, sadly, he'll get one more year and cement our happiness with pathetic mediocrity. The last time I checked, he was making $2.8 million a year to lead the team to greatness.

I have zero faith that that Richt "man enough" to make the hard decisions necessary to accomplish the goal for which he is handsomely paid. His loyalty is to his assistants, not the University. This is not a good sign people.

He holds an elite position in an elite league. As the quality of coaching has picked up since he was hired we've learned that he isn't an elite coach.

The problem is not that we from time to time struggle with some parts of the game and lose a game.

The problem is that some of the losses over the last 2-3 years Tn. 07, Ala. 08, Fla. 08, Tn. 09, etc. have been complete collapses. I mean it's like the team morphs intoDuke or Syracuse. It's completely mind bloggling and, what's really concerning is that I don't think the coaching staff has a clue.

Hence, we get the excuses like last year. The defensive collapses were because we stopped tackling to the ground to reduce injuries".

One thing that I am convinced of is that a team that ranks at the bottom of all of college football in penalties and turnovers is not a well coached team. Those are coachable issues.

Saturday, I told a friend that graduation will not Georgia. Rennie leaving early will be the most critical. Stafford really never had an experienced O-Line and AJ will never really have a QB that can get him the ball.

The coaching has went out the window. These players are clueless. The combination poor coaching and poor talent is deadly. I have to wonder about the coaching staff's ability to recognize talent. Thomas Davis was offered by two schools, Georgia and Grambling. BVG offered him after watching him play basketball. Prince Miller is another example of a Byrnes High School flop. Richt made the comment before the LSU game about his concerns of their tall WR against shorter DBs. Well, quit recruiting 5'8" 170lb corners!Here is a question. Did you see anything positive last Saturday? I didn't. I have to wonder at what point does the good athletes realize they won't be coached up at Georgia and quit coming. If you had a son that was a legit D! player, would you want them to come to Georgia?One of the most disturbing things I see is how other teams seem to play better pass defense. Georgia has enjoed their ride, but no MNCs. Sit back and watch Saban win one at Alabama this year. LSU has had 2, Florida has 2(maybe 3), Alabama will have a good shot at getting one, all during the Richt years. You don't pay a man 2.8 million to lose to people that are ranked higher and beat the Vandy's and Kentucky's. What experience does any of the coordinators or position coaches have that makes you think they are proven winners? I don't want Richt to go, but it is going to have be some MAJOR changes to right the ship. I will even call out Van Halanger on this too. I have you noticed the injuried and the overall look of Georgia's athletes? Georgia's athletes don't pass the eye test to begin with. Good head coaches recognize the sinking ship last year and make the appropriate changes. Now Richt finds himself in a real mess with two coordinator needing to be let go. That kind of change can be catasrophic. Sadly, I don't see Richt making the changes that need to be made and it ultimately cost him his job.Look at the good years with Richt. The rest of the SEC was down and going through major changes. His success was brought about by superior talent that in same way was brought to Georgia by Donnan. Don't get me wrong, Donnan needed to go, but he did recruit well. Look back at all the NFL talent. The last few years not so much, example..CJ Byrd. Was he really a 4 or 5 star kid? When Georgia losses they get blown out and destroyed, not even competitive. Exception is LSU, but LSU is good at finding a way to win. If it happen more than twice, it isn't luck. It is preperation and situation.

I think the underclassmen talent level at Georgia is very good. On offense at least. Are you all thinking maybe Richt and Co. tried to sell Cox as the leader for this team. Leaders aren't named they command leadership through action. Playing Murray will be a nightmare, but what makes you think the O-Line will be better next year? There is nothing about this coaching staff that makes me feel like they are competant. I know this is very pessimestic, but the truth hurts. The only way to get better is to realize your weaknesses.

Great article David. Hit so many of my points on the head and I thought I was the only one who noticed the litle things. Like Prince Miller. For Gosh sakes, how many times would you have to tell a Senior NOT to catch a punt inside the 10. Yet he did it last year and had to be replaced by Gray again when he did it earlier this year and then, HE DID IT AGAIN Saturday on the 1. Now is that coaching or is that just dumb. The coaches obviously told him. Then there is poor Brian Evans. There is no where they put him that he doesn't get picked on. So, why are we still playing him. And our defensive schemes are not getting it done yet Willie won't change. I watched Alabama and others Saturday and they not only blitzed quite often they FAKE a blitz almost every play and jump around on the line drawing penalties. Things other teams do to us. But we don't do it.

Two years and counting now. But I love Coach Richt. Its just those others.

Dave, not trying to quibble here either, just expressing my frustration at his play. Ultimately, I meant it as more of an indictment against the coaching staff for always leaving him in more than anything. I obviously don't expect Cox to bench himself. He's clearly a great kid but the time for the "heart and determination" discussion has long since passed. We need a change right now. I don't know that Logan could do any better at this point, but thats no longer the question. It's about making sure this downward spiral doesn't become a freefall into next year. All options should be explored and any loyalty to the senior emotional leader of the team should give way to protecting our future. That's what's so frustrating: our coaches are acting like this is a band-aide problem (i.e. we need to get Joe back on track) while we need full on CPR (clearing the benches).

Sorry to go off subject, but does anyone know if GA/Vandy will be on ESPN360.com or ESPN Gameplan this weekend? I don't get the SEC Network. GA/Tenn was on 360 and Gameplan, but the ESPN360.com upcoming event schedule is not listing GA/Vandy for this weekend.

The youth excuse is BS for what has happend the last 2 years. Last year I thought that the players must just not like each other and there was team division. Maybe the injuries. But if it takes gettting absolutly crushed once a season to get motivated to get better then that is not a strategy.

It is one thing to lose 24-14 and blame youth. It is another to get just absolutly waxed for the third time in almost a year and blame youth. If the starters are not doing what they are told by the coaches then put in the backup dudes. The talent on this team is plenty good enough not to lose like they have been doing.

A thought about coaches. It always seemed strange to me to have coaches just moving around every few years. Now that I am older and have seen or read about what other coaches have done it makes sense to me. As an example I use Pete Carroll. He has assistant coached under Lou Holtz, Earl Bruce, Monte Kiffin, Bud Grant Jerry Burns, Bruce Coslet and George Seifert. Mark Richt has coached under Bobby Bowden and Steve Logan. I'll bet Pete learned a bit about how to deal with things from each coach. CMB has coached under Jack Crow and Richt. Maybe CMB would help his long term career by going off to get another view of things. Become an NFL quarterbacks coach or something. CWM has coached under Brian Kelly (Funny to hear his name mentioned around. He might just keep CWM!), Dick Flynn and Gene McDowell.

Richt may not have any idea how to get rid of a coach and bring in another one. No one ever taught him how. He is using the CBB long term family approach and that worked great for CBB but something is wrong in Athens. Just becasue it worked for BB does not mean it will work everywhere. We can all see that it is not working the last few years. He may not know exactly what will happen when he brings in someone else and that scares him more than anything. He is having on the job training at $2.8 million a year. Now that is pressure.

Anon -- I agree with you there. It does appear, both from what they say and the personnel decisions they make, that they look at it as a band-aid problem. Of course, I don't think we can completely rule out the fact that they realize there are bullet wounds, but band-aids are all they have to fix them with at the moment. Not saying Gray can't play, but none of us have seen even a fraction as much of him as the coaches have. I dunno.

It starts and ends with ACCOUNTABILITY! When a player has a game changing penalty, missed assignment, fumble, etc... Richt needs to yank them off the field, sit 'em on the bench and put in a sub for a quarter or more. CMR NEVER holds his players, asst. coaches, or himself accountable for mistakes. No matter who we have as a D or O coordinator next year, the melt downs will continue because no one in the program is held accountable for anything they do. Every player and coach needs to do their job and if they can't get the job done correctly, they need to sit/leave. That needs to be Richt's philosophy moving forward.

Richt & co. have made it acceptable to underachieve and the asst. coaches and players have slowly adapted to that philosophy over the past 2-3 years. CMR needs to grow a pair and change this mindset or we are in for an ugly couple years of football (regardless of who the asst. coaches are).

Other examples of poor coaching are players playing the wrong position. Brandon Miller, CJ Byrd should have been a WR. Use of scholarships, ( Bogatay, Andy Bailey, Prince Miller, Carlton Thomas). Yes, Carlton Thomas. Richt and Co. continue to find these small mis-match players that are situational players at best. Tyson Browning coming to mind.

Use of personnel during important plays. Players play and ballers ball. Richard Samuel toss sweep to the short side of the field comes to mind. Looking at resumes, what makes this staff legit? What experience do they have at programs that play excellent at the highest level? Other SEC teams are taking their TV money and putting it towards coaching staffs, what is Georgia doing? Indoor practice facility? I like what Urban Meyer said to a recruit when asked about Florida not having an indoor practice facility and Tennessee having one..."Good they need one, we win championships without it" Urban is a douche to the highest level, but the truth hurts that he is a winner. Hate to break it to you guys, but Georgia has never really been that great offensively. Even with David Green. How many times did BVG's defenses get them out of the jams. Stale, no real identity. Moreno and Stafford did, what everybody is saying, out athlete the competition. This team was this bad last year. The thing that changed is Stafford, Moreno, and MoMass. This coaching staff was to stupid to figure it out last year. How many beatdowns will it take to get to the center of a Gergia coaching staff?

Guys, the players have made mistakes but I got to tell you alot of this is poor coaching. That many blue chippers don't go bad all at once.

For example, the defense has been bad all year. It has been a testimony to having top 5 recruiting classes and the individual athletes abilities to make a play that has made them have moments of brillance. However, poor coaching is evident. I've seen it up close and personal at the games -- no one can tackle, blow assignments, no one lining up on receivers leaving them open, no bump off the line to slow down the dink and dunk, no swim or spin moves by the lineman. Offense about the same - no blocking especially on the run -- Hershel couldn't run behind that line. But yes there are some mistakes by the players but I can tell you it's 98% coaching. Hell we don't even know which arm to carry the ball in. I think CMR is in deep trouble. Dumping Martinez and his staff is the first order of business. Next, dump the offensive line and offensive backs coaches. They suck beyond comprehension. We've had so many blue chip lineman on both sides of the ball and nothing and I mean nothing has been done with them. It's a recurring theme every year. Again, it's poor coaching - I don't think that many linemen suddenly turned into chump change.

Finally fire the special teams coach. The only time we back a team up to the 20 is when we kick it out the end of the end zone. In all this you don't know what you'll get in returm but I gotta believe it's better than what we got. Heck even if one phase of anything gets better, it's still better. CMR has no choice. Maybe he and Bobby worked out a I'll get fired from Jawja and come to Tallafrassee and coach the inept Suckinoles.

The defense has been bad all year. It has been a testimony to having top 5 recruiting classes and the individual athletes abilities to make a play that has made them have moments of brillance. However, poor coaching is evident. I've seen it up close and personal at the games -- no one can tackle, blow assignments, no one lining up on receivers leaving them open, no bump off the line to slow down the dink and dunk, no swim or spin moves by the lineman. Offense about the same - no blocking especially on the run -- Hershel couldn't run behind that line. But yes there are some mistakes by the players but I can tell you it's 98% coaching. Hell we don't even know which arm to carry the ball in. I think CMR is in deep trouble. Dumping Martinez and his staff is the first order of business. Next, dump the offensive line and offensive backs coaches. They suck beyond comprehension. We've had so many blue chip lineman on both sides of the ball and nothing and I mean nothing has been done with them. It's a recurring theme every year. Again, it's poor coaching - I don't think that many linemen suddenly turned into chump change.

Finally fire the special teams coach. The only time we back a team up to the 20 is when we kick it out the end of the end zone. In all this you don't know what you'll get in returm but I gotta believe it's better than what we got. Heck even if one phase of anything gets better, it's still better. CMR has no choice. Maybe he and Bobby worked out a I'll get fired from Jawja and come to Tallafrassee and coach the inept Suckinoles.

I think the point has been made on coaching. Let me say this to CMR: You are a damn good coach, you've paid your dues. I also believe you are a good judge of character and performance. I was once told that I stayed with my subordinates too long and should dump them. I believed in them and they gave me 100% in return. You just have to redirect them if needed. Joe Cox: You are a damn good dawg and equaly a QB..does anyone remember you were a national offensive player of theweek, threw 5 TDs for 375 yards?? Now get it together..90% of the Dawg nation is behind you..MikeMoore82: we're with you son, you've given us your all...for the rest of the Dawgs, reach down inside and give us the perforances we know you're capable of from here on out; big D line, GATA..the way you know you can. Practice hard this week and take a tough attitude in Vandy..of course, our "loyal" fans will say when you win, "well, it was just Vandy". Coach was right, not too many of them have been in the arena. Give them your best and if when it's over you can say< "I gave it my best, I left if all on the field"...we'll love you for the Damn Good Dawgs you are. GATA!!

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About the Author

Seth Emerson has been covering the SEC and Georgia (on and off) since 2002. He worked at the Albany Herald from 2002-05, then spent five years at The State in Columbia, S.C., covering South Carolina. He returned to Athens in August of 2010, only to find that David Pollack and David Greene were no longer playing for the Bulldogs. Adjustments were made.

Emerson is originally from Silver Spring, Md., and graduated from Maryland in 1998 with a degree in journalism and a minor in getting lost on the way to practically everywhere. Then he spent four years at The Washington Post, covering small colleges, a couple NCAA basketball tournaments, and on one glorious day, was yelled at by Tony Kornheiser. It was probably at The Post that he also learned to write in the third person.

These days he lives in Athens with his beloved and somewhat wimpy dog, Archie. Together they fight crime at night in northeast Georgia, except on nights there is no crime, in which case they sit at home, sip on white wine and watch reruns of "Mad Men."